Francis The 1 Of France was born on September 12, 1494, in Cognac, France. Francis 1 and his sister, Marguerite, were raised by their mother, Louise of Savoy, who was widowed at the age of 20 years old. Francis 1 has always been intrigued by romance, songs and violent, yet classical studies, such as, hunting, tennis and masquerades . When Francis 1 was 18 years old, Louis X11 sent him to the frontiers, which had Just been attacked. During this period of time, he learned about warfare, self sufficiency, and how to govern the state, and himself.
Shortly after, Robert De lenoncourt crowned Francis 1 on January 1, 1515, leading him to become the first Renaissance king of France. Overall, Francis 1 was a Renaissance person because he greatly affected france during the renaissance. Not only did he influence the French arts and architecture, but also, he spread Roman Catholic religion , supported French expeditions to the new world, and was liked among the people of France. Therefore, I believe Francis 1 should have been known as a Renaissance influencer during his monarchy.
The renaissance was the golden age and time of cultural and economic prosperity for Europe after the devastating Black Death. Throughout the Renaissance, which took place from 1350-1600, many rulers have come into power to make europe better. These rulers are known as “Renaissance people”. According to Baldassare Castiglione’s excerpt from, “The Book Of The Courtier”, to be considered a Renaissance person, you must be well rounded. Castiglione considers a renaissance person to be graceful, Intelligent, artistic, literate, and politically knowledgeable. Francis 1 meets the criteria for three of these five ideas. Castiglione’s excerpt states, “Yet he must use good judgment to see he never appears foolish ”(Courtier line 6).
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Francis 1 exemplifies incredible judgement throughout his life. For example, he built a court for poets, musicians, and educated men to become friendly with the nobles from provinces. During this era, women weren’t much involved and appreciated in the world, but, Francis 1 believed that women should be invited to these events. Francis had a saying for this idea…”A court without women is a year without spring and a spring without roses”. This shows that Francis was thinking ahead and had good judgement by supporting the advancement of women in the world by involving them in activities, such as the courts, that they wouldn’t normally be invited to.
The excerpt also says, “ Our Courtier should know how to paint and draw”(Courtier line 24). Although Francis 1 did not physically paint or draw, he did in fact dedicate his time to supporting the French art. Francis 1 not only encouraged the renaissance style of art in France, but also, architecture in France expanded under his rule. Francis 1 brought many artist from Italy and imported works of art from Italy as well. Under Francis’ rule, buildings such as the Chenonceaux, the Azay Le rideau, Valencay, and Villandry, are several of the most famous and flourishing pieces of architecture works in France.
Aslo, Francis built numerous châteaus, supported many well known artists, built a library that included every book ever sold in France, and helped achieve the start for the prestigious College De France in Paris. The college taught Hebrew, Greek, Latin, mathematics, and humanism ideas. According to the text,”i would have the courtier know literature, in particular those studies known as humanities. He should be able to read and speak Greek and Latin. Let him read and know the roman and greek poets, orators, and historians”(Coutier line 11).
A Renaissance man should be educated in literature, as well as aware of Roman and Greek philosophers, and bilingual in Greek and Latin. Francis 1 was tutored by François Desmoulins de Rochefort, who taught him Latin, and Christophe de Longueil, who taught him Humanist values. Both of these men influenced Francis 1 to pursue an education in studies such as, arithmetic, geography, grammar, history, reading, spelling, and writing . Francis 1 was fluent in Hebrew, Latin, Italian and Spanish, and was interested in the poetry of Clement Marot, which was his favorite one.
Francis 1 died on March 31, 1854, at Château De Rambouillet. Although Francis 1 is taken as a lightweight in the Renaissance influential time period, i believe he should be considered an impact to this era. Overall, Francis 1 was a Renaissance person, because he immensely affected France during the Renaissance, by increasing the worth of French architecture, spreading religion, being a supporter of the arts, solving political and religious problems, and waging campaigns.
